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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26732740">the other side.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/j_whirl44/pseuds/j_whirl44'>j_whirl44</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Mutual Pining, Other, hi god it's me again, u know what this is about</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 09:48:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,115</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26732740</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/j_whirl44/pseuds/j_whirl44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Cel wishes Zolf luck.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Celiquillithon "Cel" Sidebottom/Zolf Smith</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the other side.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>This is going to work. Cel begs and pleads to whoever is listening that it’s going to work. They...they hope it’s going to work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They look around and everyone appears comfortable as they rest, the same small smiles on their faces as before. Before all this, before Cel messed up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No, no they didn’t mess up. Everyone believed in them enough that they trusted them to do it again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Or you were their only option. Which isn’t saying much,’</span>
  </em>
  <span> they think. They close their eyes and shake their head at the thought as if to flush it out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. No that’s not it,” they whisper under their breath. They’ve been stuck with this mind for a long time and they know when to let it run and when to reel it in. Now’s a time to reel it in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zolf stirs across the room and sits up. He takes a moment to stretch and look around. His eyes meet Cel’s and they look at each other for a moment. He gives a friendly smile and Cel tries their best to reciprocate it, but even they can tell it’s broken. Zolf’s face drops a bit and he turns away and stands up. He goes through the motions of getting ready to brave the aurora again. To try and fix Cel’s mistake.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>No, not a mistake.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They take a deep breath in and out and stand up now too. They rub their hands together nervously and continue to look around at everyone’s face. They’re all here. They’re all asleep. This is going to work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zolf gives a grunt as he finishes gathering his things and that attracts Cel’s attention. They look him over. He looks as strong as ever. His shoulders broad as he stands up straight. His face is focused and his mouth is in a line of determination. He flexes his hands as he takes in a deep breath and Cel watches his shoulders rise and fall with the motion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their stomach does a flip and they attempt to squash it down as they let out a small gasp. The stakes are high enough already they don’t feel like adding on the pressure of a confession of feelings to the mix, even if now may be the time for it. Thinking back there were so many opportunities for Cel to say something before this but they were terrified. Zolf is a friend, a good friend, and losing that relationship in the middle of everything else going on was too much to think about so they did their best to try and hide it away. They’re certainly kicking themselves now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zolf heads towards the door and goes up onto the first step and Cel breaks out of their head just long enough to catch him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good luck Zolf. I uh-” they hesitate. Despite the argument they just had with themselves they almost let it slip. They almost say, </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I, uh, need you to be safe.’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>or </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I, uh, need you to come back fine because I care about you in a different way than I care about everyone else,’</span>
  </em>
  <span> because that </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> what they want to say.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Again if the circumstances were different, then maybe, but in the moment they self-correct, “see you on the other side?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He smiles, “yeah,” he says with a tone that Cel thinks doesn’t match the situation but they don’t think about it too hard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They feel themselves shaking as they move closer to him. Zolf gives them a look of surprise and intrigue and Cel can’t stop themselves from leaning in and taking him into a hug. The solidness of his frame and the smell of his skin settles them a little bit and Cel closes their eyes tight and takes in a quiet breath. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zolf takes a moment and then holds them tight to try and steady them. It helps a bit as Cel feels themselves stop shaking, again focusing on his stoneset body. He gives them a few solid pats on the back. He lingers a bit on the last one, taking his hand and gently rubbing it up and down for a moment. They fight the shiver creeping up their spine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, Cel, it’ll be fine,” he says into the crook of their neck, “we got the best possible chance with the people that we got. We’ve done everything we can. So, it’s good.”</span><br/><br/>
  <span>“Yeah and it’s-it’s what we’ve-what we’ve. What we’ve done is probably enough,” they say.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They feel Zolf nod, “Yeah..yeah,” he says. They embrace for a little longer until they start to feel him pull away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cel nods feverishly as they fully pull back from each other, but they’re still close enough that they’re basically face to face. They swallow down another breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He should be turning and leaving at this point but he stays. They can see his eyes looking over their face and they feel heat rise to their cheeks as they let their eyes dart down to his lips only for a moment. They hope he didn’t see.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zolf reaches up and grabs their bicep and squeezes. He keeps a loose hold on it as he speaks, his thumb gently swipes along their shirt, “I’m sorry you’ve had to bear the weight here. So, thank you,” he says. His eyes scan their face again, his lips part just a little bit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cel smiles and their eyes go a bit wide, “Oh, um-thank you Zolf,” they say. His hand is still on their bicep, “thank you,” they repeat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They take a step back to collect themselves before they really lean in and do something unwise. They take another daring glance at Zolf’s lips and clench their hands into fists to steady themselves.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They give a shaky laugh, just gotta,” the give a wide, toothy smile, “just gotta see you tomorrow,” they say with a wave and a forced laugh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Please,’</span>
  </em>
  <span> they think.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zolf looks like he hesitates between walking towards them to do...something or walking out the door. They stare at each other another moment before he finally seems to make his decision.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He takes a step back and looks at the ground before looking back up at Cel with a small, sincere but nervous smile, “see you on the other side.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turns and leaves and Cel feels the anxiety of being alone rise up in them again but they settle themselves by closing their eyes and bringing a hand up and placing it on their bicep. They nod assurance to themselves as they open up their eyes and look towards the door he just walked out of.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They cling onto the hope they feel in their gut.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>so the end of this goddamn episode huh.....HUH</p>
<p>I haven't recovered yet.</p>
<p>Hope you enjoyed &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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